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Shaping Europe’s digital future

Innovation Radar

The Innovation Radar focuses on identifying high potential innovations and key innovators in EU-funded research and innovation projects.

What is the Innovation Radar?

The Innovation Radar is based on a methodology developed by the Joint Research Centre. The data gathered by this method is used to categorise EU-funded innovations in terms of market maturity and disruptive potential, based on indicator systems developed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. It supports innovators by suggesting a range of targeted actions to assist them in fulfilling their potential in the market.

It not only gathers data sets about innovative potential but also ensures that EU-funded researchers and innovators get expert advice during their project about the most appropriate steps to reach the market with their innovation.

Linking with investors

The Innovation Radar aims to create a steady flow of promising tech companies that can scale up into future industrial champions. It is supported in this by the EU-funded project Dealflow, which is linking investors with investment opportunities presented by results emerging from the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

The Innovation Radar data will also underpin new ‘tech due-diligence’ centres around Europe that will be introduced as part of the SME strategy (.pdf) of the European Commission. This initiative will see the Commission co-fund a pilot to launch several ‘tech due diligence’ centres that will offer services that allow for more precise valuation of European high-tech start-ups and later stage tech SMEs on the basis of their technology and intellectual property portfolios.

The Innovation Radar Platform

The Commission launched an Innovation Radar data-driven online tool during Digital Day 2018 in Brussels. The tool makes information about EU-funded innovations publicly available. The Innovation Radar platform is also available as a smartphone app (iOS and Android).

The Innovation Radar Prize

Using the radar, the best EU-funded innovators are identified to compete with their EU-funded innovation for the annual Innovation Radar Prize. The 2022 prize was won by NVision Imaging Technologies from Germany for their 'Cell level Metabolic MRI' showing how quantum technology can significantly improve MRI capabilities in detecting the efficacy of medical treatments at early stages.

The Innovation Radar and EU countries

EU countries have recognised the value and need for such a tool and, to date, Ministers from 23 countries have signed the Innovation Radar Declaration (.pdf), which was launched at Digital Day 2018.

Countries who have signed the Declaration share the Commission’s ambition of using the Innovation Radar to foster the emergence of a dynamic ecosystem around the output of EU researcg and innovation programmes. They also demonstrate their commitment to work with the European Commission to enhance the Innovation Radar and pilot the Radar methodology in national and regional Research and Innovation programmes.

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